HB 4559 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

To eliminate the restriction of hunting bears over bait

HB 4559 would eliminate a current prohibition against killing bears using bait during overlapping deer and bear hunting seasons in West Virginia. This change directly affects hunters who use bait for deer during seasons when bear hunting is also permitted. The bill amends §20-2-22a to remove the restriction that currently bans bear kills via bait during these concurrent seasons, while maintaining other existing bear hunting rules like tagging requirements and prohibitions on hunting cubs or small bears. The policy change specifically targets the bait restriction during joint deer-bear seasons, without altering other regulations governing bear hunting.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Jan 20, 2026
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
0
Committee
3
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
To House Agriculture, Commerce and Tourism
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
To House Government Organization
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors